Why are so many teens starting to vape, and how is it affecting their school life? According to the FDA article: In 2023, over 2.1 million U.S. middle and high school students reported using e-cigarettes, with nearly 90% favoring flavored products . What began as a smoking alternative for adults has rapidly evolved into a widespread trend among teens, even reaching students as young as sixth grade.

Today it’s common to hear about students vaping in school bathrooms, during lunch, or even in class. Vaping was supposed to be an alternative for adult smokers, but now it’s a trend among teens, even kids as young as sixth or seventh grade. Since vapes are easy to get and don’t seem as bad as cigarettes, more and more students are trying them without realizing the risks.

Teen vaping is becoming a big problem in schools. It affects student’s focus, health, and even their behavior. Even though it is illegal for minors, it’s still easy to get vapes from older friends, stores that don’t check IDs, or even online. To understand why vaping is so common, I talked to two students who shared their thoughts on peer pressure, school rules, and how vaping has become so normal. Their stories help show how serious this issue is and what schools can do to help.

One big reason students start vaping is because of their friends. Irene Hinestroza, a high school student, explained how peer pressure makes it easy for teens to start.

“So I haven’t personally felt pressured, but I’ve seen it happen a lot. For example, if your friends vape, it’s easier to be like you should just try it too. And there’s a lot of people that just want to fit in,” Hinestroza said.

Many students think vaping isn’t that bad, especially compared to smoking. This makes it even more tempting to try.

“I think that in my mind, more than social media, it’s like social groups, because there are some like friend groups where everybody vapes,” she added.

Once students start vaping, it can be hard to stop. Some even use it to deal with stress.

“I don’t think stress or anxiety is the reason why they start, but it might be the reason that maybe they start out of curiosity. But once you start liking it, you start to feel relief from your stress and anxiety once you vape. So that might be one of the things that makes it more addictive,” Hinestroza explained. 

Matilda Orejuela, another high school student, agreed that vaping is getting more popular, even among younger kids.

“So I definitely think there’s been an increase. I think it’s pretty common to hear about students vaping in bathrooms or even during class… sometimes you hear about kids in seventh grade, sixth grade vaping, so I think there’s definitely been an increase,” Orejuela said.

Even though schools try to stop vaping, the rules don’t always work.

“I don’t think the punishment alone works because most students just go back to vaping. They just go back to vaping,” she explained. She thinks schools should focus more on educating students instead of just suspending them.

Another problem is that students who want to quit are scared to ask for help.

“But sometimes people really want to quit, but are too scared to ask for help because they’re embarrassed they are going to get in trouble for asking for help, but they’re not,” Orejuela said.

Vaping has become way too normal for teens, and it’s a serious issue. Schools punish students for it, but that doesn’t really stop them. Instead, schools should focus on teaching students about the dangers of vaping, making it easier to quit, and finding better ways to stop vaping on campus, like vape detectors in bathrooms. This is a problem that won’t go away on its own, so it’s important for teachers, parents, and students to work together to make schools vape free.